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Addams Family Values
Addams Family Values is a 1993 American comedy film, the sequel to The Addams Family (1991). It was written by Paul Rudnick and directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, and features many cast members from the original, including Raul Julia, Anjelica Huston, Christopher Lloyd, Christina Ricci, Carel Struycken, Jimmy Workman, and Christopher Hart. Joan Cusack plays a serial killer who marries Uncle Fester (Lloyd) intending to murder him for his inheritance, while teenagers Wednesday (Ricci) and Pugsley (Workman) are sent to summer camp. Included in the soundtrack is "Supernatural Thing", which was a chart success for Ben E. King. Compared to its predecessor, which retained something of the madcap approach of the 1960s sitcom, Addams Family Values is played more for macabre laughs. The film was well received by critics, receiving significantly better reviews than its predecessor, which had a mixed critical reception. However, unlike the first movie, it was not a commercial success, failing to bring back its $47 million budget. Plot Gomez and Morticia Addams hire a nanny named Debbie to take care of their newborn son, Pubert, after older siblings Wednesday and Pugsley's failed attempts to murder him. Unbeknownst to them, Debbie is a serial killer who marries rich bachelors and murders them to collect their inheritances. After Debbie seduces Uncle Fester, Wednesday becomes suspicious of her intentions. In order to maintain her cover, Debbie tricks Gomez and Morticia into believing Wednesday and Pugsley want to go to summer camp. They are sent to Camp Chippewa, managed by the overzealous Gary and Becky Granger, where they are singled out by the counselors, as well as popular girl Amanda Buckman, for their macabre dress and behavior. Joel, a nerdy bookworm who also does not fit in, becomes interested in Wednesday. Debbie and Fester become engaged. At their bachelor and bachelorette parties, Debbie is horrified by the entire Addams family. On their honeymoon, she tries to kill Fester by throwing a boombox in the bathtub, but the attempt fails. Frustrated, Debbie forces him to sever ties with his family; when they try to visit Fester at Debbie's mansion, they are removed from the premises. The Addams are alarmed to find that Pubert has transformed into a blue-eyed, rosy-cheeked, golden-haired baby. Grandmama Addams diagnoses this as a result of his disrupted family life (the disappearance of Fester), and Gomez becomes horribly depressed. At camp, Wednesday is cast as Pocahontas in Gary's saccharine Thanksgiving play. When she refuses to participate, she, Pugsley and Joel are forced to watch upbeat Disney and family films. Afterwards, Wednesday feigns cheerfulness and agrees to take part. During the performance, she stages a coup, capturing Amanda, Gary and Becky, and setting the camp on fire. She, Joel and Pugsley escape via a camp van, and Wednesday and Joel kiss. Debbie tries to kill Fester by blowing up their mansion. Debbie thinks she has finally killed Fester, but it turns out he actually survived the explosion. After this, she pulls a gun and tells him she does not love him and is only interested in his money. Thing intervenes and Fester escapes. Fester apologizes to Gomez, and Wednesday and Pugsley return, reuniting the family. Debbie arrives and ties the family to electric chairs, explaining that she killed her parents and previous husbands for incredibly selfish and materialistic reasons while the Addams listen with sympathy and compassion. Upstairs, Pubert, who has returned to normal, escapes from his crib and is propelled into the room where the family is being held. Debbie throws the switch to electrocute the family, but Pubert manipulates the wires and electrocutes her instead of the family, incinerating her into a pile of ash. Months later, at Pubert's first birthday party, Fester laments Debbie's loss but becomes smitten with another nanny, Dementia. In the Addams family graveyard, Wednesday tells Joel that Debbie was a sloppy killer, and she would instead scare her husband to death. As Joel lays flowers on Debbie's grave, a hand erupts from the earth and grabs him; he screams while Wednesday smiles. Cast *Raul Julia as Gomez Addams *Anjelica Huston as Morticia Addams *Christopher Lloyd as Uncle Fester *Christina Ricci as Wednesday Addams *Christopher Hart's Hand as Thing *Carel Struycken as Lurch *Jimmy Workman as Pugsley Addams *Carol Kane as Grandmama Addams (replacing Judith Malina) *John Franklin as Cousin Itt *Joan Cusack as Debbie Jellinsky, a professional black widow. *Dana Ivey as Margaret Alford (Mrs. Cousin Itt), the ex-wife of Tully Alford and current wife of Cousin Itt. *David Krumholtz as Joel Glicker, Wednesday's love interest. *Kaitlyn and Kristen Hooper as Pubert Addams, the newborn child of Gomez and Morticia. *Peter MacNicol as Gary Granger, the co-owner of Camp Chippewa. *Christine Baranski as Becky Martin-Granger, the wife of Gary and co-proprietor of Camp Chippewa. *Mercedes McNab as Amanda Buckman, a camper at Camp Chippea. McNab previously portrayed the Girl Scout in the first film. *Cynthia Nixon as Heather, one of the potential nannies for Pubert--a hippie. *Charles Busch as Countess Aphasia du Berry, a countess and relative of the Addams Family. *Douglas Brian Martin and Steven M. Martin as Dexter and Donald Addams, the two-headed relative of the Addams Family. *Allegra Kent as Cousin Ophelia Addams, the sister of Morticia Addams. *Ryan Holihan as Lumpy Addams, a hunchback relative of the Addams Family. *Maureen Sue Levin and Darlene Levin as Flora and Fauna Amor, a conjoined twin that Gomez and Fester used to date and attends Fester and Debbie's wedding. *Carol Hankins as Dementia, a bald woman who becomes the nanny of Cousin Itt and Margaret's child What. Cameo roles *Barry Sonnenfeld as Mr. Glicker, the father of Joel Glicker. *Julie Halston as Mrs. Glicker, the mother of Joel Glicker. *Nathan Lane as Police Desk Sergeant, a desk sergeant who listened to Gomez' rant about Fester and Debbie's wedding. Lane would eventually go on to playing Gomez in The Addams Family musical. *David Hyde Pierce as Delivery Room Doctor, a doctor who helped to deliver Pubert. *Peter Graves as America's Most Disgusting Unsolved Crimes anchorman *Sam McMurray as Don Buckman, Amanda's father *Harriet Sansom Harris as Ellen Buckman, Amanda's mother *Ian Abercrombie as a driver who picked up Fester and Debbie from their Hawaiian honeymoon. *Tony Shalhoub as Jorge, a patron at the bar Debbie goes to Category:1993 releases Category:Movies Category:Sequels Category:Paramount Pictures Category:The Addams Family Category:Theatrical releases Category:Based on comic strips